Chromebook

[Nooby]

Anyone out there have a Chromebook and if so, what's the opinion on these?

My laptop just bit the dust. I don't want to spend a lot on a new one for a bunch of stuff I don't need, and frankly I'm done with Microsoft and Windows (I've been saying that for years ). And I don't use the Edge browser, never have and never will.

I just can't get my head around the small storage footprint of Chromebooks, even Windows laptops these days don't seem to have huge hard drives - I guess that's because of the concept of cloud storage but I'm not sure I'm ready to do that with all my files.

Anyway - opinions on Chromebooks would be appreciated.

[Even Steven]

I love mine. Everything I have is stored in the cloud.

They're pretty handy but have limitations. If you need to edit any files (video, graphics) you need to be comfortable with doing it with simple online tools, you're not installing Photoshop on it. But most of my work is spreadsheets and email so it works beautifully for me. I don't store locally anything.

[Nooby]

I love mine. Everything I have is stored in the cloud.

They're pretty handy but have limitations. If you need to edit any files (video, graphics) you need to be comfortable with doing it with simple online tools, you're not installing Photoshop on it. But most of my work is spreadsheets and email so it works beautifully for me. I don't store locally anything.

Perfect, thank you. Would you share which brand you have? I've been looking at either Asus or Acer.

[GordonH]

I’ve never been a fan of google.

[Even Steven]

Perfect, thank you. Would you share which brand you have? I've been looking at either Asus or Acer.

Lenovo Flex.

[Nooby]

Perfect, thank you. Would you share which brand you have? I've been looking at either Asus or Acer.

Lenovo Flex.

Thanks

[TylerM4]

They're great if everything you need it for can be done within a browser or if they have an app for it.

For many - it's all they need. Something to browse the internet, do some basic file/document editing (using the browser), and view videos/pictures.

Not good for: Gaming (other than simple browser based games), video/music editing, in-depth document editing/creation (you'll want the full version of MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, or whatever it is you use), autocad/drafting, etc.

[Nooby]

Thanks. Ultimately decided it wouldn't meet my needs as a replacement for my laptop, for some of the reasons mentioned, so went another way.

Now my latest beef is this concept of Windows 10/11 S-mode. I know I can switch out of it and probably will when my new equipment arrives. Never liked the Edge browser or Bing search engine and I'm quite capable of keeping my system safe & secure, thanks all the same Microsoft.

[kelownman]

You seem to have an affinity to the edge browser and bing search engine. I assume you are aware you can use any browser or search engine using Windows 11? Windows 11 allows you to choose which default browser and search engine you prefer in settings. Additionally you can put the browser/search engine icon on your desktop or taskbar for easy access.


List of Top 10 Browsers for PC

• #1) Firefox
  #2) Google Chrome
  #3) Microsoft Edge
  #4) Apple Safari
  #5) Opera
  #6) Brave
  #7) Vivaldi
  #8) DuckDuckGo
  #9) Chromium
  #10) Epic

List of search engines in 2023

• Google
  StartPage
  Yahoo
  Baidu
  Yandex
  DuckDuckGo
  Ask.com
  Ecosia
  Aol.com
  Internet Archive

I also disable ALL Micro$oft features and ads!

[Nooby]

I was referring specifically to the limitations of Windows 10 or 11 S mode which is the OS installed on the laptop I purchased and many others I looked at.

[Bsuds]

I was referring specifically to the limitations of Windows 10 or 11 S mode which is the OS installed on the laptop I purchased and many others I looked at.

It seems to me that laptops with that version of Windows OS installed are very low end specs.

So maybe purchase something better. It doesn't have to be new. I picked up a used 10th gen i7 for $250. It can be done.

[TylerM4]

S-mode is a great feature if it doesn't hamper what you need to do. Really good for shared/public devices, kids, seniors, etc. The extra security is a great protection against malware, hacking, etc.

While I admit I'm using chrome to post this, I think you should give edge a shot. I use edge a lot and it's been fine. It's a huge step up from IE. You are aware that Edge was built using the code from chrome right? It's 90% Google Chrome under the hood. As mentioned, you can use whatever search engine you want with edge. Bing is the default, and Microsoft will prompt you to switch back to Bing (or "Standard browser settings") periodically or whenever an OS upgrade occurs, but never forces use of bing. While I do like/use the edge browser, I always use google as my search engine.

[Nooby]

Tyler - yes I intend to give it a shot, not going to switch out right away unless it does hamper what I want to do, and apparently you can't switch back. I'm historically a very careful (i.e. paranoid ) user and in many many years of use over various systems have not once been infected.

Bsuds - you are correct and I am indeed on a budget right now, and have no interest in buying used.

Thanks all.

[Nooby]

S-mode is a great feature if it doesn't hamper what you need to do. Really good for shared/public devices, kids, seniors, etc. The extra security is a great protection against malware, hacking, etc.

While I admit I'm using chrome to post this, I think you should give edge a shot. I use edge a lot and it's been fine. It's a huge step up from IE. You are aware that Edge was built using the code from chrome right? It's 90% Google Chrome under the hood. As mentioned, you can use whatever search engine you want with edge. Bing is the default, and Microsoft will prompt you to switch back to Bing (or "Standard browser settings") periodically or whenever an OS upgrade occurs, but never forces use of bing. While I do like/use the edge browser, I always use google as my search engine.

FYI - got my new system today. As also supported by everything I've read about s-mode, you absolutely cannot change to another default search engine. Others are listed in the settings but in 'more actions' the 'make default' option is not there as it is in windows 10 (non s-mode). Oh well, I will live with Bing for now.

[GordonH]

^^^ my tablet lets me choose between 5 search engines. I use DuckDuckGo because it doesn’t track.